1. Keith J. Niven Page 1 of 2
CURRICULUM VITAE
PERSONAL DATA
Name: Keith James Niven
Discipline: Contracts Professional – Upstream Oil and Gas Capital Projects
Qualifications: Professional Member of the Royal Institution Of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS)
(Chartered Quantity Surveyor - MRICS status attained November 1991 - Equivalent to first
degree level academic qualification awarded by universities in the UK)
Date of Birth: 20th August 1966
International
Experience:
Venezuela, USA, South Korea, Indonesia and Romania
Telephone: UK: 0044-07766-852643 (UK mobile.); 0040-720-826634 (Romanian mobile)
E-Mail: keithniven@hotmail.com
SUMMARY OF EXPERTISE
Contracts professional specialising in upstream oil and gas capital projects, onshore and offshore (incl. FSO &
Subsea), greenfield and brownfield, from “Front End Loading” (FEL) phase through execution phase (EPCI) and
close-out:
 Development of Contract and Procurement Strategy through all stages of FEL to ensure optimum strategy
is selected and approved, involving analysis of; business drivers, potential scope breakdowns and
associated interface risks, contracting market, client resource constraints, existing client agreements,
compensation strategy, local regulations, national content requirements, sourcing and tendering methods,
allocation of risk and risk mitigations for each potential strategy
 Provide input to overall project master schedule, ensuring key milestones and adequate durations for
contracting and procurement activities are incorporated
 Participate in overall project risk reviews, providing contracting and procurement input in identification of
risks, quantification of potential impacts and development of mitigation strategies
 Present proposed project Contract and Procurement Strategy during project “gate” reviews and closure of
any review “findings” identified by management (local, regional and global) or by investment partners
 Manage implementation of approved Contract and Procurement Strategy, to ensure the following are
executed in accordance with the overall project schedule:
- Service contracts required in the FEL phase (such as engineering, specialist studies, geophysical &
geotechnical survey / data acquisition etc.)
- Long lead purchase orders required for the execution phase
- EPCI phase contracts and purchase orders
 Preparation of Invitation to Bid (ITB) packages in accordance with the approved Contract and Procurement
Strategy ensuring completeness and consistency. Development of project terms and conditions in
conjunction with legal, tax, treasury, accounting and insurance functions, preparation of compensation
sections and co-ordinate and input in the drafting of all other contract exhibits (i.e. scope of work, HSE,
quality, schedule requirements, completions and handover etc.) in conjunction with the project team and
functional departments
 Management and co-ordination of bid cycle; review of all bidder requests for clarification, respond to bidder
clarification requests (ensuring proper inputs from project team and functional departments), co-ordination
of bid evaluation, lead contract negotiations, compilation of award recommendation and preparation of final
contract documents for signature
 Proactive in all aspects of post award contract management; including advising Project Manager on
contractual issues, monitoring client and contractor compliance with contract and ensuring proper and
timely corrective actions are taken in cases of non-compliance, ensuring contractual correspondences are
issued to protect client interests, negotiating and agreeing change orders / contract amendments and
settlement of contractual claims
 Mentoring of high potential local staff

2. Keith J. Niven Page 2 of 2
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
OMV Petrom S.A., Bucharest; Romania based (Under Contract)
Contracts Manager – January 2012 to June 2015
Providing contracting management expertise (pre and post contract) to Gas and Offshore Projects Group with a
portfolio of 41 Brownfield projects (largest single project with capex of Euro. 70 million).
ConocoPhillips (UK) Ltd.; Aberdeen, UK based (Under Contract)
Senior Contracts Specialist – July 2011 to January 2012
Management of tender processes through award for major fabrication contracts (Offshore Module and Mono-
Column) for Britannia Long Term Compression Project - both awarded in accordance with the Project Schedule.
ConocoPhillips Indonesia; Jakarta, Indonesia based (Under Contract)
Contacts Specialist - July 2008 to June 2011
Supporting onshore and offshore (incl. subsea) upstream capital projects, in various project phases, each with
investment ranging from US$100 million to US$500 million. Member of the Leadership Team for each project.
Led the development of Contract and Procurement Strategy, for each project, in accordance with the COP
Capital Project Management System. Responsible for management of bid processes from preparation of ITB
packages through contract award and all post contract administration and management.
AGIP KCO, Kashagan Full Field Development Project; London, UK based (Under Contract)
Contacts Administration Coordinator - January 2008 to June 2008
Supervising a team of four Contract Administrators for the Concept Selection / Concept Definition Phase.
Position created as a result of the contract administration and cost control functions being separated due to
volume of work - selected for the position by the Program Manager.
AGIP KCO, Kashagan Full Field Development Project; London, UK based (Under Contract)
Senior Contacts Administrator & Cost Controller - November 2006 to December 2007
Contracts Administration support and guidance to the Concept Selection / Concept Definition Project Team and
providing input to contracting strategy development and bid evaluations.
Responsible for maintaining and updating the Project cost information to prepare a number of reports including
Value of Work Done (VOWD), Commitment, Cash Call and forecast costs on a monthly basis. Duties also
included assembly of the Annual Work Program and Budget submission and support package.
ConocoPhillips, Venezuela, Corocoro Phase 1 Infrastructure Project (Offshore Development)
Supervisor – Commercial and Procurement (Under Contract) (Sole Contracts Administrator for period Jan
2002 to April 2004. Promoted to Supervisor April 2004 to Nov. 2006 supervising two expats and four nationals)
Contributed contractual and procedural input to development of the contract strategy. Due to rapidly changing
market place and pressure to increase national content the final strategy was fragmented with a wide variety of
COP managed engineering, fabrication, marine transportation, offshore installation and support contracts.
Responsible to ensure all tendering and contracting was representative of the selected contract strategy and
addressed all technical and commercial interfaces.
Key personal highlights:
- Provided all contracts support to the project “Off-take” Manager to secure a shipyard production slot,
compliant with the project schedule, for construction of a new-build FSO vessel. FSO was delivered at
the shipyard in South Korea on time and within the approved contract value
- National content commitment required subsea pipeline installation performed by local contractor and a
Venezuelan flagged barge. Suitable pipe-lay barges were not available but successfully negotiated a
contract with advance funding, protected by bank guarantee, for local contractor investment in barge
conversion. Advance funding recovered by offsets against contract milestone payments. Success story
with Venezuelan government authorities
Venezuela based with short-term assignments to the engineering office in the USA and FSO construction yard in
South Korea.
Petrozuata (Conoco & PDVSA JV) – Venezuela (Under Contract)
Contract Administration Supervisor - 1999 to 2001 / Contracts Administrator - 1997 to 1999
Contract administration of various construction contracts upstream onshore facilities. Supervised consolidation of
Capital Project Contracts and Production / Operations Contracts Group (total of 8 staff).
Salamis (Marine & Industrial) Ltd. - part of Maersk Group
Development Engineer (1995-1997), Quantity Surveyor (1992-1995)
R. Armour and Partners, Chartered Quantity Surveyors, Kilmarnock, Scotland.
Quantity Surveyor (1989-1992), Trainee Quantity Surveyor (1984-1989)